Reika hadn’t even considered if she should go to the social gathering or not. It was a natural choice, and she understood that this party was as much networking as it was an actual celebration of sorts. She had talked a lot with many of her fellow students and slowly integrated herself with some who had more talented and higher-rated comrades.

The reason why this meeting was held now and not earlier was due to many outside observers wanting to get an idea of the new students. They wanted to see how they performed in the first classes, what they showed talent in, and if some were worthy of picking up and cultivating.

That’s right, this entire party was one big recruitment drive. Representatives of factions of the Order were present in droves, along with several auxiliary factions working with the Order. They were all talking with those from the ninety-third universe they found worth talking to.

There were also other new students present, but the representatives showed less interest in them. Reika knew that individuals from new universes had some special properties such as their Tongue of the Myriad Races, as well as apparently a boost in Records. Or, more accurately, a boost in that they were all Forerunners, automatically giving a good dose of Records right off the bat. This is what had allowed even the untalented and unmotivated back on Earth to get level 50 or so with little effort. Needless to say, this boost of Records was far from enough to be helpful in the long run, but it could be built upon with momentum. They lacked the boost of Records one got from powerful parents, but the ones from the new universe were considered better in many ways.

Then, of course, there was the fact many factions wanted a foothold in the new universe. It was something that was usually not that big of a priority in the early days for many factions, but this time it was different. Because according to the rumors, the Chosen of the Malefic One belonged to the new universe.

Jake’s existence made it essential for them to establish themselves in hopes of probably assisting him in the early days. They would gladly do this if it meant getting in the good graces of the Malefic One and his Chosen, even if it took sacrifices and much work.

Now, talking about Jake. Reika did say she hadn’t even considered if she should go before the event, but currently, she was seriously doubting her own decision-making skills. Reika herself had wanted to make allies. She knew that Jake was talented in areas she was not, but she was confident in her social skills after lots of practice in her younger days.

So how the hell had Jake turned out to get along so damn well with bloody everyone?

“Ya know, I just don’t get it. Why does Palate make shit taste better?” Jake loudly complained as he swung a bottle around. “This one got literal shit in it!”

“It’s from mushroom extra-“

“Literal. Shit,” Jake interrupted some poor early D-grade who tried to correct him.

“True!” a scaled dragonkin beside him said. “I grew up eating that garbage every damn day; no way I am now drinking it!”

The scalekin was perhaps the most popular figure present, with Jake hiding his identity. It was the one who carried the Divine Blessing named Draskil, and he was currently bonding with Jake over their shared hate for mushrooms, even though Draskil seemed to despise moss more than fungi.

They were surrounded by a whole crowd of primarily scalekin who had all gathered when Jake and Draskil, for some god-forsaken reason, decided that throwing acid to test the other’s scales was a funny side activity. To make it worse, both began laughing when Draskil’s entire arm fell off from getting corroded through.

Then, for good measure, Jake did the same shit and poured acid over his own arm. It ended up still hanging on by a few centimeters of flesh as Jake celebrated loudly.

And yes, before anyone asked, they were both smashed. Reika had been afraid Jake would reveal something he shouldn’t, but nothing like that had happened so far. Plenty of things Reika thought Jake should not do had happened, but it wasn’t like she could tell him what to do…

Either way, it turned out that while Jake had not really made any connections with the more humanoid races, he was sure a hit among the more monstrous ones.

“Wait, you were scared of the sun?” Jake laughed as Draskil made his confession.

“All three of em!” the dragonkin responded with laughter. “You try and live underground and then suddenly get functional eyes and seek out the surface only to see three massive balls of fire! Down below fire usually meant lava, and lava meant you were about to get roasted!”

“Wait, I thought you were blind?” Jake asked. Molemen were blind, right? Jake was pretty sure of that.

“To light, not heat,” Draskil corrected as he took a huge chug of a bottle. Putting it down, he looked straight at Jake. “Why the mask?”

“Loot from probably the strongest foe I’ve ever fought,” Jake responded in a serious tone.

“Hm, a treant of sorts?” the dragonkin asked with interest.

“Something far more powerful than that,” Jake smirked below his mask. Even while pretty smashed, his brain still worked well enough to not share stuff like that.

“Fine, keep your secrets,” Draskil shrugged as he raised his bottle again. “Cheers to powerful foes and the bounty from their kills!”

“Cheers!” Jake and dozens of scalekin all around them said as they drank.

Honestly, Draskil was a pretty cool dude. He could also hold his alcohol quite well, and Jake felt happy he had finally found a match.

Draskil had originally struck Jake as the silent type, but he had quickly come to learn it wasn’t quite like that. Draskil and Jake were very similar in that they both didn’t really like large social settings. Jake due to how he was, and Draskil due to the way he had lived his life so far as a solitary survivor. Molemen were a nomadic race that lived underground and had to always travel for food. They had been far more intelligent than any animal on Earth besides humans but were still not at the level of men. Perhaps at the level of ten to eleven-year-olds.

The now-dragonkin had been a bit special in that he had been smarter than his brethren. This meant he had been shunned and had to survive on his own for his entire life. He had to scour for food himself and eventually even began looting caravans of his brethren to survive. His experience had allowed him to prevail right off the bat during the Tutorial and get to where he was today.

Jake was a bit surprised at how loose Draskil’s tongue was after getting a few drinks in but soon realized he had just finally loosened up. He wasn’t the type to care about secrets, even if he was clearly a prideful man. Draskil had only spoken to a handful so far, and with Jake the most, as the dragonkin had more or less confessed that he only viewed Jake as a proper equal because he, to quote: “feel it in my bones you are strong.”

On the note of alcohol, Palate worked weird with it. It eliminated some parts of it while it allowed other parts to function. This meant Jake was drunk; he knew that. But he also knew he was drunk, and his thought process and mind were only semi-affected. That is why he could be both clear-headed and feel the joy of alcohol at the same time, almost like he could switch back and forth at will. He was sure he could reach a level of intoxication where that was no longer the case – a few passed out scalekin sitting slumped in chairs proving this – but so far, Jake was far off that.

What did consistently work was Jake feeling way calmer and soothed overall. Also, he didn’t know why, but he really jelled with these scalekin as they all drank and celebrated. Jake knew they were there for Draskil to begin with, but eventually, Jake became included.

He did also do some politics after he found out it was a political party thing. He got a bunch of contact numbers, including those of several brewers who had helped supply alcohol to the party. Yes, that counted as valuable networking too.

Anyway, around four hours had passed since Jake arrived, and finally, it seemed like everyone had come. People were delayed due to them having lessons or other engagements to handle first. With that, it seemed like the host would finally make their appearance.

“A belated welcome to everyone!” Jake suddenly heard a voice ring out, getting the attention of everyone. In the middle of the hall, on a podium of newly-raised stone, stood the elf and human pair Jake had seen on the first day he went to the Academy.

[Human – lvl 161]

[Elf – lvl 167]

The human had gained two levels and elf one. The elf was a woman who looked a bit like Meira but had long red hair, while the human had a strong build and generally what Jake guessed would be described as “heroic” features. They looked like a couple out of some fantasy game or movie, and it turned out they were.

“At the request of many of the wonderful sponsors of this gathering and influential factions within the Order, we are holding this get-together to not only get to bond with one another but to make new friends among those already established in this universe,” the human began.

“Allow me to first introduce myself. I am King Aiborn of the Twinsoul Kingdom, and beside me is my wife, Queen Eilenria. As many likely can guess, we come from a planet where elves and humans have lived in co-existence for centuries already, and we are more than happy to see the Order also be like that.”

Jake was already beginning to feel bored as he looked at Draskil, who also just grinned and shook his head. Who cared if they were kings and queens or whatever? He was pretty damn sure they didn’t have the nobility titles from the system, that is for sure.

“With the advent of change, both for us as individuals, as well as our universe, I hope that today can be the foundation of a strong working relationship for the future. For not only our own factions back home, but the Order and those we ally with to get footholds within the new frontier that is our world!”

He said it all with much fervor, and Jake did see some be touched. He also clearly felt the human had some hefty social skills bordering on mental manipulation. Not that anyone minded, not even Jake. There seemed to be a general agreement that if you were weak enough to get influenced, good riddance.

The next to speak up was the elf queen lady, who also clearly possessed some potent leadership skills. Even better than the humans.

“The Twinsoul Kingdom has already made partnerships, and we are certain there is power in numbers. Not a single force in this room will stand a chance in the ninety-third universe against powerful factions like the Holy Church, Altmar Empire, Valhal, or any other large faction I am certain have already begun planting their roots. The ectognamorphs have already begun their conquests, the Starborne empires made preparations, and the Endless Steppe armies banded together… even the demon empires and automaton stand ready to grasp this new unconquered territory. Not a single faction is not interested in claiming their own piece of the pie.

“That is why it is imperative that we each at least secure our own planets. To do that, you will need allies, and as our universe opens up gradually, we will become able to rely on these allies more and more. So please, I plead to all of you. For the sake of the Order and our own futures in the ninety-third universe, let today, before the Second World Congress, be the day we all stand side by side!”

Jake just sat back and listened to the impassioned speech, and while he was certain a few were moved, he was most certainly not. Her flowery words were nice enough, but it was clear they wanted to make themselves and their own little kingdom a center point of this new alliance of sorts.

He also saw a small group of Risen standing by themselves, all sneering a bit. Among them were two C-grades and all of the students who had arrived from the ninety-third universe. They were naturally looking down at this entire display, and Jake had also noted the lack of mention of the entire Risen faction.

As Jake had already come to learn with the whole Emberflight debacle, then the Order didn’t truly function as a traditional faction for the vast majority of members. More an overall alliance of different factions who all worked with or for the Order or were subservient to it. This did mean one could be part of the Order and the Altmar Empire or many other factions. One didn’t even need to view the Viper as the greatest of all the gods – just one of the greatest.

This philosophy did have some factions it didn’t jell with. The Holy Church was an exclusive faction, the Court of Shadows was one, and so were many other ones in the multiverse. High-ranking members of pretty much any faction would also only exclusively belong to that one faction.

Jake was certain the Order worked as it did due to Villy’s entire philosophy on freedom. How it was the most important thing to have agency and control your own path, so of course, he didn’t bother to have a faction that locked people in, at least not as a requirement.

The Order did have core members. These were the members of the different Halls, of which there was only one currently. This is where one found the true believers of the Malefic Viper and the individuals who had pledged their lives to the Order. They were the leading faction within the Order and had the backing of Villy himself, though, in reality, it had been Snappy fulfilling that role for the longest time.

Draskil, who sat with Jake, also didn’t bother with the human and elf much besides the basic level courtesy of not interrupting. From their earlier conversation, Draskil was already dedicated to the Order and had no interest in joining any other faction, no matter what.

By now, most knew this, but there were still the occasional hopeful. The queen and king pair kept talking a bit more about the power of unity and the importance of conquering through the World Congress before spreading out and making allies. They first greeted and talked with those who went up to them, but soon enough, they set their sights on where Jake and Draskil were sitting drinking together.

For the third time in a short while, the dragonkin and human exchanged a glance as they knew what was coming. The elf and human pair were even joined by a few representatives from different factions. Most of them lower-rung ones who no-doubt wanted some of that Divine Blessing clout.

Oh boy, here we go again, Jake thought as he and Draskil shared another drink before more political bullshit arrived.